Written by K.-P. Ludwig The IRIS2 programme was conceived to address a sincere and urgent strategic need: a sovereign European satellite communication infrastructure, independent of non-European providers, capable of serving both governmental and military requirements. The instrument chosen to deliver it, the SpaceRISE consortium and its concession model, was motivated by something definitely different: the industrial and national interests of a small number of actors seeking to stabilise their own market positions through public funding. The Rendezvous 1 agreement of August 2026, far from resolving this incompatibility, has institutionalised it. This analysis examines how, why, and with what consequences for European security.






